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Manufacturer of renewable packaging solutions, Stora Enso, has invested €97 million to expand board production at its Skoghall site in Sweden.
In addition, the company will also initiate a "pre-feasibility study to convert the second, currently idle, line at its Oulu site in Finland, into a packaging board line".
The investment at Skogall will enable Stora Enso to accelerate growth and profit in end-use segments, including liquid packaging board and coated unbleached kraftliner.
The company expects the expansion to increase annual packaging board production by approximately 100,000 tonnes - to over 900,000 tonnes in total.
Meanwhile, following the successful paper to kraftliner conversion in Oulu, Stora Enso will now begin the pre-feasibility study of its second line. The study is set to be completed by early 2022.
"Skoghall is one of our key integrated production sites for eco-friendly packaging materials. The investment strengthens Stora Enso's capability to produce high-quality and cost-competitive consumer board grades within the growing core segments of liquid and food packaging," said Hannu Kasurinen, EVP Stora Enso's Packaging Materials division.
She added: "In Oulu, the ramp-up of the first converted production line has been successfully executed, reaching towards full capacity, quality requirements as well as profitability ahead of plan. Through both these growth initiatives, we are demonstrating speedy time-to-market and ability to respond to the increasing demand for more sustainable packaging."
The Skoghall expansion is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.
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